


Caught

by yearoftheheart



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Family, Gen, No Romance, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:46:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28665693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yearoftheheart/pseuds/yearoftheheart
Summary: Aunt Molly tries to get through to Mae.  Takes place at the beginning of the game after Aunt Molly catches Mae at the playground.
Relationships: Mae Borowski & Aunt "Mall-Cop" Molly
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Caught

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this short one-shot to explore Mae and Aunt Molly's relationship a little bit. This is my first fic, so constructive criticism or other comments are greatly appreciated! It definitely could use some polishing, but I wanted to get my first work out there.

“Hello Mae. Been awhile.”

Mae blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the flashlight shining in her face. She was hoping to get home as quickly as possible, but it seemed like her jump from the power line had attracted the attention of her aunt Molly. She should have known that the off-limits playground would be considered, well, off-limits by the police.

“Get in the car, Mae.” Molly put her hand on her hip.

“No.”

“You want to spend your first night back in jail, Mae?”

She paused for a moment, but she figured her aunt wasn’t bluffing. Besides, her legs hurt from the walk from the bus stop and she was starting to shiver from the October wind.

“...no.” Molly held her hand out to help Mae up, but she stood up on her own and brushed dirt off her pants. She slowly followed her aunt to the police car, resisting the urge to drag her feet behind her. First her parents didn’t pick her up, now she was in for a lecture from Aunt Mall-Cop. She had only been back in Possum Springs for less than an hour and already she was in trouble.

***

Molly drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as they pulled up to a stoplight. They had been sitting in silence for ten minutes while she tried to think of something to say. Her relationship with her niece had never been easy, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that they hadn’t seen each other in over a year.

“Are you alright? That looked like a hard fall,” Molly finally said. Mae grunted in response and turned away from her aunt to look out the window. Molly glanced over at her and sighed. “I didn’t know you were coming home today.”

“Apparently neither did my parents.”

“I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding. They’ve been very busy with work lately.” Mae turned back from the window to glare at her aunt.

“You don’t have to tell me that!” She crossed her arms and slouched in her seat.

“Please don’t take that tone with me, Mae. I know you’re frustrated, but your parents really are looking forward to seeing you. Your visit is just...a little unexpected, that’s all.” Mae didn’t respond, but Molly saw her eyebrows raise.

A few minutes later, they pulled up outside of the Borowski’s house. Mae started unbuckling her seatbelt before the car even stopped.

“Hold on, we should talk about why you were wandering around that playground. I know you know not to walk on the powerlines.” Molly unbuckled her own seatbelt in order to face her niece.

“I was just trying to get home, no need to go all mall-cop on me,” Mae said, rolling her eyes.

“You could have gotten seriously hurt tonight! You’re an adult now, Mae. You need to start acting like one.” Molly paused and rubbed her forehead. “Look, I don’t know what happened that made you come home from school, and I know that probably isn’t my business. But your parents are worried about you. If you don’t want to talk to them about it, please talk to someone. I don’t want you to get into any more trouble.” Mae squirmed in her seat.

“Can I go now?”

“I’m not going to keep you. I just want you to know that your parents and I are here for you.”

Mae got out and turned to close the car door, but she stopped short. “Thanks...for the ride.” She looked to the ground and Molly thought she saw her blush.

“Take care, Mae.” She nodded as she shut the passenger door behind her. Molly watched as her niece walked into her house and the front door closed behind her. As she pulled away from the curb, she made a mental note to call her sister tomorrow and check in. Something was going on with Mae, she just didn’t know what.


End file.
